A Southland farmer will be forced to pay for the costs of suppressing a fire on State Highway 6 at Five Rivers on Saturday, which closed the highway for several hours during the afternoon and reignited just after 5pm yesterday.
Southern Rural Fire Authority principal rural fire officer Mike Grant said he understood the farmer had lit a "big pile of rubbish" in "howling winds".
The fire soon jumped the road and ignited a stand of trees, just before 1.30pm.
Mr Grant said he was not sure how many trees had been burnt, or on whose property, but the incident was a timely reminder.
"[They] should not light fires when it's windy, or when windy conditions are forecast.
"Even though we've had a bit of rain down here, it only takes a day with high temperatures and low humidity - it would have dried out in an hour.
"It's absolutely irresponsible.
"As a message to others, that person will be getting the account for all the fire-suppression costs.
"In that area, we are running an open fire season, but it's still their responsibility to make sure that the fire doesn't get away from the area."
